HistoryIn the early days, Smith Street was popularly referred to as hei yuen kai (theatre street) in Cantonese,4 a reference to the 834-seat Chinese theatre Lai Chun Yuen that used to be at 36 Smith Street. The theatre was built in 1887 and was very popular among the Cantonese community in Chinatown for its Cantonese opera. The popularity of the theatre gave rise to colloquial names for the streets surrounding it: Temple Street was known as hei yuen hau kai (theatre backstreet), and Trengganu Street was hei yuen wang kai, or “side street”.5 Between the 1910s and 1920s, performances at the theatre attracted packed audiences. Cantonese stars who performed at the theatre included Ma Shi Chan, Leong Seng Poh, Hong Xiannu and Luo Pin-chao.6

After World War II, street hawkers and traders selling household goods occupied the street. They were later relocated to Kreta Ayer Complex in 1983 after the building was completed.7

Smith Street also had a darker side – it was known as a red-light area with at least 25 brothels located there in 1901. It was only in 1930, after the Women and Girl’s Protection Ordinance had been enacted in the Straits Settlements, that prostitution was brought under control.8

The street was a popular venue for job seekers, who would congregate here in search of prospective employment.9

Recent developmentsA 100-metre stretch along Smith Street was converted into an outdoor eating area known as Chinatown Food Street, which officially opened on 13 November 2001.10 This was part of the Chinatown redevelopment project spearheaded by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (now Singapore Tourism Board) and supported by various government and grassroots agencies.11 Attractions on this food street are hawker kiosks, shophouses restaurants and ad hoc street kiosks that offer speciality dishes from the main Chinese dialects.12 This section of the street used to be closed to traffic in the evening.13

On 1 May 2013, Chinatown Food Street was closed to make way for renovations.14 It was officially reopened on 22 February 2014.15 The revamped Food Street has more than 20 hawker stalls and six shophouses restaurants operating under a new glass shelter with special fans to keep the atmosphere cool. The entire 100-metre stretch is now closed to road traffic permanently.16

The information in this article is valid as at 2005 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.